Rishi Sunak was formally appointed UK prime minister after meeting with King Charles III on Tuesday. The 42-year-old, who is of Indian Punjabi descent, has become Britain’s first non-white prime minister and the youngest in modern political history.
Sunak, who along with his wife has a combined wealth of about £730 million, has pledged to bring economic stability and warned of “difficult decisions” ahead in his first speech as a prime minister, as he took the leadership amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Hackney Post asked people to share their views about the appointment of Sunak earlier this week. Here are their thoughts:
Q: What do you think about new prime minister Rishi Sunak? Do you think he’s the right man for the job?
Callum Pearce
Software engineer | 25 years old
I think with his background in economics, he has worked in hedge funds and stuff like that, it’s not the best. But it probably shows that he knows more about what to do about the economy. Basically, the way I see it is he’s the best of what’s to offer. But I don’t like any of them.
Carole Williams
Hackney Labour Councillor | N/A
He is a conservative, I’m going to say no. And there hasn’t been an election either. He hasn’t even been chosen by the members of the Conservative Party. He’s essentially been chosen by nobody. We need to have a general election.
Q: With his wealthy background, many people think he represents the UK’s elite community. What do you think about that?
Carole Williams
Hackney Labour Councillor | N/A
He has no concept of what it means for the ordinary Londoners and ordinary people of this country who are experiencing extreme poverty because of the decisions this government has made. We have seen the growth of foodbanks. We know that fuel prices are skyrocketing. There’s been a massive cut in public spending for Hackney, 60% of public spending. This isn’t just austerity mark 2. The 2010 austerity never ended. So, we have been living with austerity in this country for the last decade.
Tim Richardson
Business consultant | 37 years old
I think it’s hard to get away from the fact that he is so wealthy. I think it’s even more difficult for him at the time when there’s a cost-of-living crisis. However, I would say, the Conservative Party as a whole is pretty representative of his sort of people. So, I think, for him personally it would be a challenge, because people will be looking to find holes in his policy, in his premiership.
Q: Do you have any specific hope for the new prime minister?
Carole Williams
Hackney Labour Councillor | N/A
General election. We need a general election. He is not going to deliver any policies that I would ever want to see. I listened to him throughout the leadership debates, and I’m appalled and disgusted in what the Tories are doing, what they want to do. And I think we need to go for general election sooner rather than later.
Tim Richardson
Business consultant | 37 years old
I think it’s going to be very difficult. I think, the fact that Liz Truss decided to use this economy as an experiment for 45 days means that the correction is now put in place. So, I would like to think that correction will continue. But, yeah, I don’t know if there’s a lot of hope for him and the country, to be honest.
